Sexual healing STALKING THE MUSE’s Americana-themed booking at The Basement last Wednesday was in full dick swing, with opening salvos from HURRICANE DOYLE and LAWS RUSHING. It was like the Spice Channel for Uncle Tupelo fans. Bedecked in a Bacardi T-shirt and a shit-eating grin, Hurricane Doyle frontman LAIR MORGAN prayed to JC in one song to “help me quit these crazy women.” Meanwhile, Southern rockers Laws Rushing preceded a number with a deep-fried mea culpa: “I wrote this (song) on a bender. It’s called ‘Beer Before Breakfast.’ I hope you can relate.” But the man of the night was the headliner, 20-year-old CHRIS JANSON, who recently signed with KEN LEVITAN’s high-powered Vector Management, the brains behind Kings of Leon. In such an intimate setting, Janson was a yelping tour de force. He slithered like a crazed workout instructor, barking come-ons to the audience, which included his “smoking ass girlfriend” HOLLY WILLIAMS. “I got eyes in my kneecaps, so be careful,” Janson warned the crowd, who reluctantly inched closer to the stage for the haunting piano ballad, “I Went Out Drinking and I Don’t Really Drink.” With his hillbilly speed-metal sneer on “Far From the Midwest” and a scorchingly original reading of Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man,” Janson gave the proceedings a swift kick in the ass. Secret sesh Word has it a spontaneous late-night hang at The Basement last Tuesday got downright Spin-a-licious with JOHN STIRRATT and PAT SANSONE (both of WILCO and AUTUMN DEFENSE, in town mixing AD’s new record) inviting friend and RACONTEUR BRENDAN BENSON and actress ZOOEY DESCHANEL (indie darling of Almost Famous) for some drinks. Deschanel asked MIKE GRIMES whether or not the P.A. was still on, then headed inside and started singing. She was joined by Sansone on piano, Benson on drums, Grimey on guitar and a revolving cast of extras for a jam that included some Beatles, Stones and even “Leader of the Pack.” Where in the country is cooler than Nashville right now? (Don’t answer that.) Rock house It was a mercifully cool night last Wednesday as people began amassing for a b-day party at guitarist and band-hopper WILLY T’s West Nashville home. There were cupcakes and dip to keep the folks happy, but the real draw was the bands, which included three members of teen punks BE YOUR OWN PET’s respective side projects. Openers SAVE MACAULAY THE BAND started off with acoustic guitars and CAITLIN ROSE’s tenacious voice luring stragglers down to the basement. Things kicked up a notch with TURBO FRUITS, a two-piece led by BYOP guitarist JONAS STEIN, who had the crowd singing the praises of the “Volcano.” BYOP bassist NATHAN VASQUEZ’s DELUXIN launched a window-rattling set that raised the bar for feedback usage. But no one was sweating as much as drummer JOHN EATHERLY, thanks to his double duty with both bands and his aggressive style. JEFF, featuring the brothers ORRALL, have been playing all over town recently thanks to JAKE living back in Nashville, and their comfort level was evident as they tossed riffs and fills at each other like live hand grenades. The show closed with newcomers AND THE RELATIVES, who kept the energy going. THE DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL was there with a petition to start a new cable channel called “The Music Documentary Channel” that would feature local filmmakers’ features and shorts about bands, and with the channel’s appearance at last week’s Forget Cassettes show, it looks like it may give Nashville a fair amount of airtime. They had no problem getting signatures. Curing your Jon/Paul jonesPAUL BURCH’s East to West CD release show at The Basement last Saturday was a warm and fuzzy affair from the get-go. Erstwhile Mekon, Waco Brother and Pine Valley Cosmonaut JON LANGFORD kicked things off with a set of punkish country rock backed by three-quarters of Burch’s band. Langford’s music has an endearingly ramshackle quality, and his between-song tales of the road, delivered in his irresistible British lilt, charmed the crowd. Though he’s hugely influential in the music underground, he’s unassuming and a bit avuncular—surely a strong contender for the indie world’s Most Likable Guy. Burch began his set with the new album’s opener, “Montreal,” and mesmerized the crowd for the next hour-plus, focusing largely on East to West, part of which was recorded at Mark Knopfler’s London studio. The band—drummer MARTY LYNDS, bassist JIM GREY, guitarist GEORGE BRADFUTE and keyboardist/accordionist JEN GUNDERMAN—chugged along with an unhurried glory that suited Burch’s laid-back allure. Though Burch’s songs are carefully crafted, there was room for some spontaneous interplay, particularly on “John Peel,” a tribute to the late British deejay/journalist that was one of the evening’s highlights. He’s all growed up We were surprised to see an email from GREAT BIG SHOWS booker/promoter CHRIS COBB announcing new contact info that places him as owner of the famed EXIT/IN. According to Cobb, previous owner RICK WHETSEL is frying bigger fish these days, and Cobb, who loves the storied history of the venue, still thinks the old gal’s got more than a few shows left in her. “I think it’s at a great place in its history, and has the ability to be even better,” Cobb says. Look for new marketing campaigns, new booking choices and some loving care. “I think that the place just needs some attention paid to it,” Cobb says. “Rick and I have both been so busy and pulled in so many directions that it’s been hard to focus on the club and what it needs to be as successful as it can. I look forward to burying my nose in the place over the next year and seeing how well it can do.” Muckletastic It was a hot, steamy East Tennessee Saturday and there was no better place to be than sitting on a hay bale, eating smoked chicken wings, drinking $2 beers and letting an uninterrupted wall of wonderful Southern music wash over you. It was the inaugural MUCKLEWAIN, brainchild of Nashville’s JOIE TODD, and, though it might not have smashed attendance records, everyone there seemed to be having a grand ole time. We arrived early in the afternoon, crested the hill and looked down upon a small valley with a stage on either end. The farther down the hill you went, the stronger the sound became, and by the time we were standing in front of SOUTHERN BITCH, the grassy hills had created a perfect acoustic bowl, resulting in the best outdoor sound we’ve heard all summer. There were signs of growing pains elsewhere—our laminate was a vendor pass with a sticker that said press stuck on the front—but all of that was part of this fledgling festival’s down-home charm. There was no dearth of Nashville flavor—THE KATIES’ grungy, melodic rock was a standout. Perhaps the most wonderful, unexpected thing about Mucklewain, and its off-the-beaten path locale, happened when the sun went down—it was dark, like middle-of-nowhere-Blair-witch dark. The stages were like signal fires in the rapidly cooling evening and we felt a wave of nostalgia, a sensory experience that was so essentially summer—the hum of the cicadas, the smell of wet grass and a feeling of rightness so rare in this world. (What? The Spin can’t have feelings?) Headliner STEVE EARLE played solo, while TODD SNIDER’s stage boasted a packed house, including fellow Nashvillians TOMMY WOMACK and WILL KIMBROUGH. By the time LUCERO took the stage at 11:30 that night, the cheap beer and heat seemed to have sapped the crowd a bit, but the boys from Memphis played a tight, rugged set that must have carried for miles. By the end of the night, the rain had held off and the heat had broken. We stumbled through the dark back to our car, already looking forward to next year. Email Brendan Benson spottings or news of new BYOP side projects to thespin@nashvillescene.com.